Scoot: Should All Students Be Forced to Recite Pledge of Allegiance?

by Scoot,posted Nov 7 2013 9:55AM

An elementary school teacher was suspended for requiring a 4th grade student to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in class. The teacher, Anne Daigle-McDonald, placed the student’s hand over his heart twice when the class was reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The school district in Florida suspended the teacher for 5 days without pay because the young student was a Jehovah’s Witness, and based on his religious beliefs, he did not want to recite the pledge. The teacher admitted she was aware of the student’s religious beliefs, but said she did not know he couldn’t say the Pledge of Allegiance.

Should every student in class be required to recite the Pledge of Allegiance - or should a student’s religious beliefs be respected? One obvious argument is that if a student is in a public school in America, then he or she should be required to recite the pledge to our flag and our country. Most of us grew up at a time when there was little, if any, respect for religious beliefs or individual rights. If you were in class at school you would recite the Pledge of Allegiance – period.

We may have an intrinsic desire to rebel against change as we seek comfort and security in our routines and traditions, but should we be so quick to resist change that extends the respect and freedom that is inherit in America’s freedoms? Allowing a student the right to not participate in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance would have no negative impact on the other students. Forcing a student to defy his or her religious beliefs by reciting the pledge does do harm to that student by momentarily taking away their religious freedom.

There are times when many Americans put too much emphasis on tangible things, rather than focus more on what lives in our hearts and minds. I’m not a Jehovah’s Witness, so I can’t speak about their specific beliefs, but just because a student of that faith does not recite the Pledge of Allegiance does not mean that student is not a good citizen who respects America. Any Jehovah’s Witness should respect the freedom to walk door-to-door, freely promoting their religious beliefs.

Reciting a pledge does not make someone patriotic or a good American, in the same way that recitation of the same prayers every week in church does not make one religious.

The tendency to dictate beliefs continues to be a dangerous trend in America. Many of the most controversial debates in this country center on a battle over individual beliefs and the need to direct the private lives of others. The debates over the legalization of marijuana and same-sex marriage are essentially debates about individual freedom.

Reciting the Pledge of Allegiance every day in school provides no assurance of shaping young students into model citizens. I wonder how many hard-core criminals or people who became unpatriotic activists said the pledge at the beginning of every school day.

Respect for the individual rights and beliefs of others should not be mistaken for political correctness gone wild. Appreciation for diversity in America is not our weakness – it is our strength.

Diversity did NOT make America great. Freedom did and we are losing freedoms

daily because clowns like you trust government to run people’s lives more than trusting the individual to make the best decisions.

11/07/2013 10:41AM

Scoot believes in using government to force people to condone his behavior choices ...

I could care less if Scoot wants to have sex with other men, cats and/or dogs or whatever zoo animal turns him on, but he believes government should force people and organization like churches and other groups to endorse his behaviors. The whole diversity thing is just an excuse to force and leftist agenda on people. Leftists hate freedom. It requires too much person responsibility. It is easier to be a cow in a herd waiting for the government to put out some corn and water every evening.

11/07/2013 11:08AM

Freedom?

No one in America should be FORCED to do anything, this is the very essence of freedom. Why is the question of citizenship relevant? The Jehovah's Witness is an American Religion as for as I know.

11/07/2013 11:12AM

Diversity Should Not Mean Disrespect

I believe that that what has been lost in the shuffle with the idea of diversity and individual freedoms is the idea of respect for one another, regardless of how they think, believe, live, etc. I do not feel that reciting a pledge is forcing anyone to change their beliefs. If you are a Jehovah's Witness, then you should be set in your beliefs. However, that also means you should respect other beliefs as well. Just as this country has chosen to respect diversity, it should be reciprocated. America was founded on certain beliefs and traditions, and as an American citizen, you should respect what these American values are. It is no different than an American going to another country and accepting their culture, religion and traditions. You can involve yourself in their way of living without losing your own beliefs or religious values. This is because you are doing it out of respect for that country. The idea of diversity is being clouded with the meaning that you lose your freedoms by respecting the ways of others. I think this idea needs to be changed.

11/07/2013 11:15AM

pledge

I'm a Jehovah witness we stand up doing the pledge of allience to show repect to the usa but we don't take a pledge to a flag only god

11/07/2013 11:26AM

Should all students be required to recite the pledge of allegiance?

Do you know where the Pledge came from? Nobody pledged allegiance in the US until the 30's, when some Americans got the idea from.... Nazi Germany.
Not to mention it's not Democratic. A citizen of a democracy is the part owner of the democracy. Citizenship comes with responsibilities; taxes, service, even the citizen's life if the democracy is threatened. But the relationship is NOT allegiance; that's feudal. One pledges allegiance to a liege lord, and agrees to follow his (or her) wishes unconditionally. A citizen has no liege lord, and is responsible for correcting his or her country when it's wrong. No, I won't recite the pledge either.

11/07/2013 11:28AM

Hey Serial Poster

You are the one who spews hates with every ranting post you make. You appear to be obsessed with Scoot and Obama. Are you sure that you're not a latent homosexual?

11/07/2013 11:53AM

freedom

The venom in these comments is pretty unAmerican and pretty scarry. Didn't realize there were so many crazies in your balliwick. I believe the pledge of allegiance was formulated after the civil war, intentionally to indoctrinate school children. How did it become a fixture in adult civil affairs? I don't believe any other country has such a thing.
It's pretty obvious that a teacher shouldn't force a child to recite the pledge. Did it ever occur to you that adding fluoride to your drinking water is forcing you to take a medicine whether you want it or not? That's also a violation of your rights.

11/07/2013 12:06PM

While no doubt Scoot is busy congratulating himself as a

champion of diversity and being smug in just how much better he is than most people, the reality is Scoot discriminates all day every day. We all do and should be able to. We choose who we associate with, date, have sex with, what clothing styles we like, what religion or no religious affiliations we engage and on and on. Scoot as a good liberal wants to take away YOUR right to choose and replace it with “he knows better and will choose for you.” This is what the diversity movement is really about. When you reject his choices for you, you are labeled racist and kook. Freedom makes America and any country great. The current fight over ObamaCare is about freedom vs. tyranny. ObamaCare is a communist wet dream—the government social planners make all your health care choices. You have no freedom to choose or in other words discriminate.

11/07/2013 12:25PM

Information about facts.

The right for students to opt out of the pledge dates to a 1943 Supreme Court ruling, West Virginia State Board of Education vs. Barnette.
Ever since then, it has been unconstitutional to force a child to salute the flag or say the Pledge of Allegiance (in a public school).
Little history note also, the author of the pledge, an ordained minister, never put under god in his pledge, it was the Catholics who pushed and forced it into the pledge.

11/07/2013 1:11PM

One can CHOOSE not to attend a Catholic School rather than force a private school

to accommodate a few who attend just with the idea of attacking groups they disagree with. You have the freedom to attend a school that does not salute the flag or say the Pledge of Allegiance. Perhaps they spit on the flag and burn it in an annual ceremony (just kidding) ... you can choose, but you cannot force others to STOP saluting the flag.

11/07/2013 1:13PM

freedom ... the venom coming from your Lord and Savior Obama is very

disturbing. Sad that you are so eager to bend over and invite government insertion.

11/07/2013 1:19PM

Well, we finally got Scooter a few followers. He needed some controversy

to get things going. People like that. They can comment and feel outraged and self-righteous and generally feel they are making a difference. Glad to help out. Scoot you are on your own now.

11/07/2013 2:00PM

“Hey Serial Poster” is actually Scoot ... he finally bit ... he claims to be a big

gay rights supporter and then used being gay as an insult in a retort post ... too funny ... folks try to hard to be righteous and above the fray rather than be comfortable in their own skin and just have fun with this stuff ... try to stay calm folks ....

11/07/2013 2:30PM

Funny that people that will go to war over perhaps being forced to say the pledge

but will gladly accept the government running and making all their health care decisions ... likely because they are the ones getting something that others have to pay for. Wha Bam.

11/07/2013 3:39PM

Liberals just need to get their abotions numbers UP and most of the anti-American

chatter would die away ..........

11/07/2013 3:41PM

Yea, conservatives have done too good a job of convincing many liberals

to quit flushing the results of their promiscuity down a sink.

11/07/2013 5:53PM

False Patriotism vs. Fundamental Liberty

You have to be an idiot to not understand that forcing someone to recite the pledge is spitting on the very principles the flag represents. The flag is nothing but a symbol, a visible representation of principles that are the actual foundation of our country. Those principles are based in freedom, not fealty. To place a mere symbol above the core principle of freedom it represents is the height of stupidity. And how does forcing someone to parrot a series of phrases make them feel more respect for that symbol when being forced to do so makes the symbol itself a lie? It's time we stop trying to indoctrinate people to believe we stand for freedom by making them act out what are to them meaningless rituals, and teach them what freedom actually is and what it means to live in a free country.

victim and is STILL NOT taking responsible for his lies and failures. It is all about HIM. He does not give a SH!T about you clowns that worship him or respect him ... you are all fools ... LOL ...

11/08/2013 11:42AM

WIth almost 53% of all Americans on some sort of government assistance,

it is no surprise that a Poverty Pímp like Obama was elected. Most Americans have been conditioned to live off their neighbors and believe that Obama cráps gold bricks in the Rose Garden——actually he is printing 85 billion a month in new debt to pay for his utopia. The media suggests that if you support Obama you are hip and sophisticated. Of course the opposite is true. America will not always exists as a free, prosperous nation. We have become too lazy and greedy and a nation of mostly leeches. Eventually the golden goose will be killed, or just die of abuse.

11/08/2013 5:17PM

Amazing all these single women who get themselves knocked up and then

expect the taxpayers to provide them welfare and healthcare. These WH0RES should be made to be responsible for their choices.

11/09/2013 2:26PM

Obama has never been a man of character.

He plays a role as the family man and the lap dog media maintains the myth. Obama won his first election not on issues but by exposing his opponent’s divorce records. Obama is a Marxist and has engaged in more crony capitalism than any modern president. Having black skin even though he is half white has allowed him to survive and even thrive for much longer than a sleazy, low character person normally would. The real threat to America’s peace and prosperity is not Obama. He is who he is. It is the sycophant people who still love and respect him despite the corruption and lies clearly on display. Only a cult member could respect Obama at this point.

11/10/2013 3:14PM

In N Dakota, 30 People Sign Up for ObamaCare, 35,000 Lose Insurance .....

and blacks still chanting and fainting over Obama ... LOL

11/12/2013 8:57AM

When it comes to risky behaviors liberals are frauds and funny to watch ...

Liberals endorse and encourage men and boys to fuçk each other up the áss, but trans-fats now that is dangerous stuff ... lol ...

04/27/2014 1:14PM

Obamacare

ObamaCare is almost a complete waste of Tax's, it is essentially encouraging young generations to drop out of work and have time to complain about high tax's, but they are getting welfare checks that you and I are paying for. So essentially they are complaining about their tax's but they are a big part of the reason tax's keep going up.